smolder
by bumblebee jars
Summary: Drew Snyder has never been the darling of the town. In fact, her favorite thing to do is cause trouble. Jack Ross, on the other hand... goody-two-shoes down to the core. It's up to Drew to change that. [Darling Pan, Storybrooke au.]


**[A/N]: I regret nothing. Let me know if you like it, s'il vous plait. also, italics from _miss jackson_ by fall out boy.**

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**smolder  
****[1]**

* * *

**S**he decides to steal his glasses on the day before spring break. Before, they've never taken much notice of each other. Jack Ross has always been a clumsy dork. A clumsy dork too timid to stand up for himself—and that makes him the perfect target. Also, as she's found out from friends, Jack is the biggest goody-two-shoes in the entire school.

It's up to her to change that.

She first notices him as she walks down the hall. There's two minutes to first bell, and Jack's too busy with organizing his locker to notice her. If she moves fast enough, she can make it.

"Hey," she says, leaning against the locker next to him and allowing herself a smile. Jack doesn't acknowledge her verbally, but his eyes dart to her face, away, and back again. She smiles and tosses her hair over her shoulder, making sure to shrug in a way so that her golden sweater reveals a shoulder.

Jack's gaze falls on her bare skin and he flushes, looking away. "Hi," he says. "I'm—"

"I know who you are," she says, stepping closer. Jack clears his throat and almost drops his books in his haste to distance himself from her. An extra book falls out of his stuffed locker and lands on his foot. He closes his eyes and grimaces, and it is then that she pulls his glasses off.

"What—hey, give them back!" he says, straightening and forgetting all about his books. Drew examines his glasses and tucks them in her pants pocket. She stretches up on her tiptoes so her lips brush against his earlobe, making him stiffen.

"Make me," she whispers, and chuckles when he shudders and doesn't move. Then she spins away as the first bell rings, making sure to blend into the crowd.

She'd forgotten that she has fourth period English with him, though. He's quite forgettable, and he fumbles his way to her desk before she remembers that he's even in her English class. He grabs his glasses and puts them back on with a self-satisfied smirk. She stares at him, ready to take them back, but then the teacher enters the classroom and she sinks into her seat, fuming. "I won," he tells her as he crosses the room to sit in his seat.

She looks over her shoulder and smirks, the wheels already turning. "We'll see about that."

* * *

**T**he next day she makes sure her lipstick is perfect. She _usually_ wears eyeliner and mascara for makeup, but today she makes an exception and paints her lips scarlet.

_Hope I don't look too weird_, she thinks, deftly spinning her hair into a waterfall braid. She chooses her clothes carefully, remembering the flush that crept up Jack's neck at her bare shoulder. Her V-neck is deep enough to expose a sliver of her chest and her shorts go to mid-thigh.

"Drew Snyder, you are hot," she tells her reflection, and winks.

_Jack Ross is going to squirm_, she tells herself, enjoying the unique torment only she can inflict.

* * *

"**H**ey Jack, did we have any English homework?" she asks. The hallway is crowded, but that doesn't bother her one bit. Jack takes one look at her and freezes, unable to keep his eyes off the dip in her shirt. "Hey, buddy, my eyes are up here."

"Sorry—" Jack mutters, and goes lobster red. "I—I didn't mean . . ."

"Ross, darling, it's cool. I was just messing with you. But—" she steps closer, making him swallow nervously. "—do we have any English homework?"

He shakes his head, speechless (_ha!_), and she rewards him with a caress to his wrist with a heartfelt "thanks." He jerks away from her touch as she walks past him. _Who's the winner, again?_ she wonders, not looking over her shoulder.

_Oh, right. _

_Me._

* * *

_you got him wrapped around your finger, watch him fall down_

* * *

**I**t's two weeks before summer that Jack grabs her wrist and pulls her aside. "You should stop," he tells her, his voice low and hoarse and _earnest_. It sends a shiver down her spine, but she manages to smile.

"Stop what?" she asks, unable to keep her voice steady. A ripple of electricity travels down her arm, and she can tell he feels it too, because he looks down at his hand clasping her wrist and lets go of her like she's on fire.

When he looks up, his eyes aren't confused, nor are they furious: they're scared, and only in the way a boy who's run away from love all his life can be. That thought pops up out of nowhere, and she drives it away, because Jack Ross is perfect and the darling of the town—the exact opposite of her.

"You know. The—flirting and touching and stuff—_this_!"

She laughs as he pushes her against the locker and pushes back—no one can cage Drew Snyder, not ever. She'll fight anyone who tries. She steps forward, and he steps back, until they are in the middle of the hallway. "C'mon, Ross, where's your sense of adventure?"

Ross swallows when she tilts her head and exposes her neck, and his eyes linger on her collarbone before he wrenches his gaze to her face. When he can't come up with an answer, she blinks, smiles. Then she flips them around and walks back so it's Jack who's leaning against the lockers, and she stands on her tiptoes to reach him. Drew grips his shirt and hisses "Make me."

Jack grabs her elbow with one hand, her chin with the other, and tilts her head up. Drew can't prepare herself before his lips crash down on hers, and she pulls his bottom lip between hers and sucks, gently. He tastes like apples and mint, a strange but wonderful combination.

Jack lets out a moan, deep in the back of his throat—almost guttural, like something belonging to a—a _jungle_—and his hand travels down to grip her waist vice-like. He tilts her head to deepen the kiss, but the moment his tongue licks at her bottom lip she pulls away with a gasp. Jack half-follows her movement, all hooded eyes and cherry lips, and there are only inches between them once more.

Drew resists the temptation to step forward and kiss him again, but Jack pulls away as well and opens his eyes, color flushing up his neck. Drew steadies herself by placing a hand on his chest and braves a smile.

"I didn't know you were so experienced, Ross," she says, hating the fact that her voice is _so_ breathy. Any students who happen to be in the hall are ignoring them, a fact she's so grateful for it hurts. She takes a deep breath and continues. "You aren't half bad, you know."

Jack grasps at her as she pulls away, but she leaves him standing next to the lockers as she walks on jellied legs. _This was supposed to be a game_, she thinks, almost alarmed. _A game, nothing more. God, when did this turn real?_

* * *

**I**t's utterly unintentional, but in a town this small, inevitable.

Jack Ross is stalking her. That's the only explanation she can come up when she's browsing Mr. Clark's store and silently puts a Mars bar in her hoodie. As she heads for the exit, a thin-, long-fingered hand wraps around her elbow and doesn't let go. When she turns around, the stupid goody-two-shoes is staring at her, an eyebrow raised in a way that makes her want to kiss him, because that eyebrow is too attractive to _not_ be plucked, or something—

_You're an idiot_, she fumes inside, outwardly smiling at him. _Fantasizing about his eyebrows? C'mon, girl._

She gathers her courage and whispers, "Where's your sense of adventure?"

Jack looks down, familiar redness creeping up his neck, and lets her go. She has a Mars bar for dessert that night, and barely gives a thought to Jack Ross any longer.

* * *

_back away from the water, babe, you might drown_

* * *

**U**ntil, of course, they nearly collide when she's jogging. He's reading a book, probably some unintelligible classic, and he wanders over into the lane that goes the opposite way. Drew weaves around him, but then he looks up, sees her, and steps to the left the moment she steps in the same direction.

They end in a tangled heap on the ground. "Are you stalking me?" Drew seethes, hating that he's the one on top of her. She shoves him off of her and sits up, examining the shallow cuts on her legs. "Thanks. I was almost done, too. I'll never know my pace for today."

"Does it matter?" he asks, in an equally angry tone. He picks up the book he was reading and sighs. That's when Drew notices the book landed in a puddle from last night's rain and is thoroughly soaked. "This was a library book. Now I'll have to pay for it, since it's ruined."

Drew feels an apology on the tip of her tongue, but swallows it down. _I don't owe you anything_, she thinks, beginning to push herself to her feet. "Yeah, well, sorry about your book."

"Sorry about your time." He purses his lips and pushes his cokebottle glasses up the door, and Drew fights the urge to roll her eyes at him. _He's actually really cute_, she thinks absently as he gives her an awkward little half-nod and scurries away.

Instead of continuing her run, she turns and walks home. She grabs her phone in her room and dials her friend's number, pacing the floor as it rings. Lora answers on the second ring and crows, "Yo, baby, this is the Storybrooke Pizzeria. Would you like your topping to be clothes, drama, or boys, or a special? Our new flavor is a Max Combo of the first three!"

Drew smirks, playing along. Lora's strange, but in an adorable, puppy-like way. "I'd like the boys topping, please," she says, to Lora's squeal.

"Gushing, crushing, or grousing?"

"Grousing."

"All right, I'm ready to take your order."

_You are so weird_, she thinks, and says, "It's that nerd, Jack Ross. He is stalking me, Lora, I swear. I flirt with him in school and he takes it as a sign that I'm deliberately messing with his head."

"Weren't you? Wasn't that the _point_ of all this, to make him lose his goody-two-shoes-ness?"

"Well, yes, but that's not—Lora, he _kissed_ me! And now I can't get away from him. He thinks he can just show up wherever and I'll welcome him with open arms, but honestly, it's getting annoying. And what's worse is that sometimes I want to kiss him again, which is terrible because I've sworn off boys. I don't know. I probably sound crazy right now, don't I?"

"You sound like you have a puppy crush, honestly." Lora's tone is matter-of-fact as she says, "You just need to get him out of your system. Take him out on one date. That should be enough. If he's a loser, you'll be able to ditch him after that pity date."

"Hmm. That might have some merit. Thanks, dude." Without another word, Drew flips her phone shut and hunts for the yellow pages. When she finds the Rosses, she flips open her phone and dials the number, leaving no time for second thoughts.

* * *

**J**ack looks out the window, squinting into the bright gray sky. Drew picks at her fries, her burger half-eaten and cherry soda half-consumed. Jack hasn't even touched his food, and something about the way he fidgets tells her that he would rather be anywhere but here. Probably the library.

Drew scowls at her fries and says, "This is starting to blow. You _do_ know you could've said no, right? Veto powers exist."

"Well, you've not really done anything to make this a productive . . . date," he retorts, arching an eyebrow. Drew sits up, mouth dropping open.

"What, do _I_ have to do everything? Every time I've asked you something, you give a _huh_ or a shrug or a _mm_ or that kind of shit."

Jack blinks and straightens, narrowing his eyes. "So let's do something to get a conversation started. Ice breaker."

Drew rolls her eyes—_seriously?_—but it's the best shot she's got. "Two truths and a lie, the usual?"

"Yes. You first, whenever you're ready."

The lie was already formulating in her mind. When she had her three, she leaned forward and grinned. "All right. First—I dye my hair. Second—I'm a virgin. Third—the easiest way to make me cry is to play_ Christmas Shoes_."

Jack doesn't even let her take a breath before he starts laughing. Drew stares at him, her lips tilted up at the corners. When his fit dies down, he catches his breath and shakes his head. "No contest. Second."

"Wr_ooo_ng," she sing-songs, resting her chin in her hands. "You now have a fifty-fifty shot. Good luck."

Jack peers at her hair and raises an eyebrow. "What? Really? People've always said you lost your virginity at thirteen, somewhere in a forest. It's pretty much common knowledge over the school."

"I guess everyone knows it but me," she snarks, shrugging. "How tragic. Guess again."

Jack now looks confused. _His headshot turned out to be off the mark, after all_, she muses. _He won't guess it._ "Um . . . the first?"

"Wr_ooooooo_ng."

"What? You don't cry at _Christmas Shoes_?" He clutched his heart, looking stricken. "Are you even human?"

"I've never heard it, actually. So, there." Her smile widens. "And no, I'm not naturally raven-haired. Blonde is just so boring, you know? Plus, I didn't like my hair when it was blonde."

"I think your hair is awesome," Jack offers, in an awkwardly sweet way that only he can pull off. Anyone else and she'd find it creepy, but his words are endearing.

Drew smiles. "Thank you. Guess I'm more than meets the eye, huh, Ross? All right, your turn."

"I'm a bad liar, though," he admits, looking down at his hands. Drew almost doesn't believe him, but then his neck starts to flush, and she rolls her eyes.

"Then I'll be able to spot it immediately and this will be over with."

"Okay. First, I'm a straight-A student. Second, I've never seen_ Mean Girls_. Third, my favorite color is—" he pauses, staring at her silently. Drew arches an eyebrow, waiting, and he whispers so soft it sends a shiver down her spine. "Blue. My favorite color is blue."

Drew looks him over and declares, "First."

Jack sits back and blinks, holding up his hands. "Yeah. I hate school, but my parents expect me to do well so I can go to college and succeed at life." He grimaces, but when he looks at her, there is a new respect in his eyes that hadn't been there before. "You are definitely a pro at this. Told you I was an awful liar."

"You really are," she laughs, taking another bite out of her burger. She wipes her mouth and stands up, gesturing for him to follow her. After Jack leaves a twenty on the table and follows her out, she grips his elbow and grins. "So now that we've officially broken the awkwardness... time to get to the_ real _part of the date."


End file.
